Return to 1958 and build a century-old giant

Chapter 803 Investing in Nintendo

"Paying out of their own pocket?" Li Xiaolong asked uncertainly, "It can't be that bad, can it? When I competed before, the team was always full."

"That's because of you, but are you still going to play now?" Yang Wendong waved his hand and said, "There's no need to argue about that now. Let's wait and see. Or we can start with smaller arenas. There's no need to rent a stadium with tens of thousands of people right from the start."

Li Xiaolong, after all, was not a businessman and did not understand the business logic involved; he often oversimplified things.

In reality, there are many smart people, but very few are able to make a business. In my past life, many Hollywood actors and directors lost everything in business.

Li Xiaolong frowned and shook his head, saying, "Going on stage is fine, but it wouldn't be very interesting for me. Before, I fought against other karate, Muay Thai, and similar opponents. Who would I fight against now?"

"Haha, right, so it's really just a competition for ordinary people, so there definitely won't be many famous people." Yang Wendong laughed, "But your idea is pretty good."

Li Xiaolong said, "Yes, but to do something like this, you need more than just money; you also need resources from all sides. I can't do it alone; I can only rely on Yang Sheng."

Don't be fooled by the fact that he has made nearly 10 movies in Hollywood and his total income is over ten million US dollars; this amount is still far less than that of a tycoon.

Moreover, many tycoons possess not only money, but also a wide network of connections, something that a mere actor like him could never achieve. Even with the same amount of money, the former could exert far greater influence.

“Okay, leave this to me. I’ll arrange a team to handle this. You can communicate with them if you have any ideas,” Yang Wendong said.
Jeet Kune Do was created by Bruce Lee. Although he was not a native Chinese, he was of Chinese descent and it can be considered Chinese Kung Fu.
Therefore, he would be happy to see it enhance the reputation of Chinese Kung Fu;

And if this competition really produces results, it will be profitable from a commercial perspective.

Another point is that Li Xiaolong is almost 40 years old. He may still be able to make movies, but he is probably starting to lose his strength when it comes to real-world sparring. Even if he could, he wouldn't be able to. His physical condition is also very poor. As a figurehead of Jeet Kune Do, there is no need for him to go on stage.

In the future, there will naturally be a need for successors in this field. In the film and television industry, the markets of Hollywood, Hong Kong, and Asia will have an invisible hand to select suitable martial arts stars as successors. Even if there are no Jet Li and Jackie Chan, there will be others.

However, without a strong commercial return mechanism, Jeet Kune Do itself cannot sustainably cultivate new talents. Only when it becomes as well-known as Karate and Taekwondo, with countless children learning it and millions watching its competitions, can it drive the cultivation of talent.

This is similar to basketball in the NBA. If not many people watch, then it is impossible for players like Jordan and Kobe to emerge. But as long as enough people watch, top players like Jordan will inevitably emerge.
The market economy is often the root cause of problems.

Of course, whether it will succeed or not is another matter. If it doesn't succeed, then there's no way to take advantage of Bruce Lee's current fame to expand Jeet Kune Do's popularity, which is indeed a good opportunity.

Li Xiaolong smiled and said, "That's good. I also hope that Jeet Kune Do can become a globally renowned martial art."

“Well, let’s try it out in Hong Kong first, summarize the experience, and then try promoting it in the United States,” Yang Wendong said.

Li Xiaolong readily agreed: "Okay, I'll go back to Hong Kong to take a look after a while."

A successful martial arts tournament may not bring significant commercial returns, certainly not as much as the revenue from several of one's own businesses, but it is of great significance. In addition, it will also be a way to obtain advertising channels, making it convenient to advertise one's various products.

Advertising space in leagues like the NBA and FIFA World Cup is often something money can't buy. Having your own event or project can bring many benefits to a company's operations.

That evening, Yang Wendong made a phone call back to Hong Kong to arrange for people there to handle the matter, and to make a plan for him and Li Xiaolong to review.

The others aren't in a rush; they won't be held for at least a few months or even next year.

On April 20, Yang Wendong left the United States, but instead of returning to Hong Kong, he went to Tokyo, Japan, and took over the New Otani Hotel, the largest hotel in Tokyo.
The Japanese government is considering providing economic aid to help China build infrastructure.

Yang Wendong tossed the Nikkei newspaper aside;
Damn it, those sons of bitches offer huge loans and even dare to call it aid.
Although China has not officially announced reform and opening up, relevant policies have already begun to lean in this direction. For example, foreign financial cooperation is becoming more aggressive, using overseas funds to purchase overseas equipment or invest in infrastructure, and then repaying the debt.
Japan and France are very enthusiastic about this, intending to lend huge sums of money to earn interest, and also have requirements for purchasing their own equipment, facilities and manpower, which is a win-win situation.

This is also one of the methods used by many developed countries to exploit poor countries.

"What's wrong?" Su Yiyi walked in from outside.

Yang Wendong smiled and said, "It's nothing."

Su Yiyi picked up the newspaper and, after reading the contents, said, "Recently, I've been reading Japanese media, and they seem very optimistic about the mainland. It's really strange that the two countries were mortal enemies decades ago."

"Between nations and companies, there are no permanent friends or enemies, only interests." Yang Wendong shook his head and said, "Look at me, I snatched Wharf from Jardine Matheson, but now I'm cooperating with Jardine Matheson on many projects, right?"

There's another reason: after World War II, Xiao Rizi became a dog, and since its owner was trying to win over the mainland to deal with the polar bears, it naturally had to bark a couple of times as well.
"That's true." Su Yiyi nodded and asked, "Zhiwen and the others have already gone to Hokkaido. Are you here in Tokyo for business?"

Yang Wendong said, "Yes, there's a company in Japan that I'm quite interested in, and I'm planning to invest in it."

"Which company?" Su Yiyi asked curiously.

Yang Wendong said, "It's a company called Nintendo. They just released an arcade game, and it did quite well. I did some research on it, and the company seems to have some potential, so I'm planning to invest."

Yang Wendong was naturally very familiar with Nintendo from his previous life. It was a dominant force in the gaming industry in the 80s, equivalent to Apple in the smartphone market after 2010.

Although he can make games himself now, he only uses his prophetic abilities on a few hit games. It's hard to say what kind of success his other games will achieve.

Furthermore, the future of the gaming market is enormous, and the games themselves are not mutually exclusive, unlike the automotive or home appliance markets where it's either one or the other. Multiple games can coexist, and naturally, multiple companies can coexist as well.

As long as a company has the capability, even with Yang Wendong's presence, it is highly likely that it can still create other classic games; it still has the potential and talent.
Investing now would be a worthwhile investment.

"Never heard of them." Su Yiyi thought for a moment, but couldn't recall, so she said, "How did you discover these small companies? I'm curious too."

She knows Yang Wendong's entrepreneurial history better than many media outlets. Many companies that were small at the time developed rapidly after being invested in by Yang Wendong. His insight is simply terrifying.
"Haha, you only remember the few successful investments I made, but you haven't thought about how many companies I've actually failed to invest in or had only mediocre returns," Yang Wendong said with a smile.

There are indeed many such companies. As a top conglomerate in Hong Kong and even Asia, Chang Hing Group has a wide range of investments in many industries and regions, most of which cannot be considered successful.

This is normal. Although there is relatively little venture capital in this era, investment still exists. Essentially, it's the same: out of ten investments, seven fail, two are mediocre, and one succeeds—that's enough. However, relatively speaking, Changxing Group's investment success rate is much higher. This is also normal, as Changxing Group's main business is building its own channels in various industries. After investing in many companies, once potential is discovered, they are immediately given funding and market access. The selected companies also have their own advantages, and with these advantages, success is naturally easier.

Of course, some companies that succeeded in investing by taking advantage of Yang Wen-tung's "golden touch," such as Formosa Plastics, could have succeeded even without him; they were essentially getting a free ride. From an outsider's perspective, some of the investments by Chang Hsing Group were very successful.

“That’s true,” Su Yiyi said with a smile, “but I still think you’re more capable.”

"Of course." Yang Wendong shrugged and said, "I'm going to Nintendo tomorrow, do you want to come with me?"

“Okay, I’ll go see what kind of company you’ve got your eye on is like,” Su Yiyi said with a smile.

Yang Wendong nodded and said, "Alright, get ready, we're going to the southern district of Kyoto tomorrow!"

The next day, a convoy of Mercedes-Benz cars arrived in front of an office building in Kyoto's Minami Ward, where a group of Japanese people were already lining up to welcome them.

"They're quite enthusiastic," Yang Wendong said with a smile.

Translator Tian Shengyi said, "Mr. Yang, Honor Electronics has achieved great success in the gaming industry. Many of its games are very famous in Japan. Nintendo has even studied Honor's games, which is why it achieved such success last year."

"Haha, I see." Yang Wendong nodded;
Although Honor's performance in the high-tech and home appliance fields is not very good, it is absolutely outstanding in the gaming field.

The entire arcade market in Europe and America was basically driven by Honor's arcade games; everyone else was just following suit.
After the assistant opened the door, Yang Wendong came out. A man of about 50 years old stepped forward and said in broken Cantonese, "Welcome to our company, Mr. Yang."

Tian Shengyi said, "Mr. Yang, this is Mr. Hiroshi Yamauchi, the president of Nintendo."

"Hello, Mr. Yamauchi," Yang Wendong asked. "Do you speak Cantonese?"

Hiroshi Yamauchi replied, "I speak Mandarin, and it won't be difficult for me to learn a little Cantonese again. I don't speak it very well, so please don't laugh at me."

Yang Wendong said, "No, what you said is very good."

Whether in Japan or Korea, many people in this era still know a little bit of Chinese. Just by looking at the text, you can see that Chinese characters make up a significant portion. If you show a Japanese newspaper to a Chinese person, they can understand something, at least they know what it's about.

Hiroshi Yamauchi smiled and said, "Thank you for the compliment, Mr. Yang. Please come in."

"Okay." Yang Wendong nodded.
The group then toured Nintendo's offices, led by Hiroshi Yamauchi and other Nintendo executives, and were given a presentation on Nintendo's history.

Nintendo was founded in 1889. It started by making playing cards, but in the 50s it began to transform into a toy manufacturer and obtained the Japanese agency rights for Disney. From then on, it dominated the toy industry and successfully went public in 1962, becoming one of the most successful toy companies in Japan.

In the late 60s, they began to establish a game toy business, which was successful. In the 70s, they entered the video game industry and began to try arcade games, which also achieved some success.

"Mr. Yang, could you please give us some advice on how to develop our game business?" an engineer suddenly asked.

"Are you Gunpei Yokoi?" Yang Wendong remembered the introduction just now; this man was a celebrity in the future gaming industry.

He had actually sent people to try to poach them before, but they refused to go to Hong Kong, so the matter was eventually dropped.

Gunpei Yokoi: 'Yes.'

Hiroshi Yamauchi quickly said, "Vice Minister Yokoi, please don't disturb our distinguished guest."

That tech engineer is so clueless; how could he possibly tell you something like that?

“It’s alright,” Yang Wendong smiled and said, “We can certainly discuss the game, but there are certain prerequisites. Mr. Yamauchi, I think it would be better if we talked about this privately.”

Hiroshi Yamauchi nodded and said, "I understand. Let's go to the conference room then."

“Okay,” Yang Wendong said.

Immediately afterwards, Yang Wendong, Hiroshi Yamauchi, and several related personnel arrived at a meeting room;
After a few pleasantries, they got down to business. Hiroshi Yamauchi asked, "Mr. Yang, I'd like to ask why you want to invest in our company?"

Yang Wendong said, "I also have high hopes for your company. You have already achieved great success in the toy business. With the development of the Japanese economy and the increase in the number of children, this business will definitely be even better."

As for your game business, your development is quite good, and you invest heavily in research and development, making you a research-driven company. I like investing in companies like that.

The success of Nintendo, or indeed many new industries, is definitely not due to luck, but rather to the accurate choice of direction, the investment of substantial funds in research and development, and ultimately, the success.
In reality, behind every successful company of this type, there are probably 99 bankruptcies. But only companies that are willing to invest so much can become industry giants.

Hiroshi Yamauchi then asked, "Compared to Glory Games, we are still inferior. So, Mr. Yang, how much investment do you want?"

“20%,” Yang Wendong said.

Hiroshi Yamauchi shook his head and said, "This ratio is too high."

Yang Wendong then said, "Mr. Yamauchi, Nintendo is a listed company. Even if you disagree, I can acquire it on the stock market, but that would only benefit some shareholders."

"We've reached an agreement, and then we'll raise funds through equity expansion. My funds can then be used for various R&D efforts and channel development within the company. Wouldn't that be better?"

“If you acquire it on the stock market, the cost will inevitably be much higher,” Hiroshi Yamauchi cautioned.
Yang Wendong said, "I know that much, so our cooperation is mutually beneficial if we cooperate and mutually harmful if we separate. But no matter what, I need enough shares. If you don't agree, I will acquire them on the stock market."

PS: Please give me a monthly ticket
(End of this chapter)